Fardeen Khan: I plan to remake some of my dad’s films – Exclusive! – Times of India

Fardeen Khan, who has recently wrapped up his comeback project, Visfot, now plans to produce films, too. If all goes as planned, he might announce the remakes of some of his father, late actor Feroz Khan’s iconic movies in the near future. Fardeen says, “Yes, I do plan to do that. I want to live up to my dad’s legacy. There have been some talks about remakes of his films. I can’t name the titles yet, but I will be happy to share the details when things materialise. We have a great foundation to build on. The tricky part is how does one better the original. If I were to attempt a remake, the humble approach would be to not harm the original in the bargain. It will haunt me for the rest of my life if we tamper with the memories of the original films while trying to create a new version.”

Fardeen also plans to back fresh content. “My attempt will be to contribute to the progression of the creative business in India,” he says, adding, “There are so many different genres to tap. We have a rich history, which I am looking at. There are so many original stories floating out there. There are contemporary ideas, history-led, technology-led stories and so on. I just want to push the envelope.”

Besides the films that he starred in, Feroz Khan had also produced, directed and acted in films like Dharmatma, Qurbani, Janbaaz, Dayavan and Yalgaar. He had also helmed Fardeen’s Bollywood debut Prem Aggan back in 1998. The filmmaker was not only known for his suave screen presence, but also for being someone who presented content stylishly and with a progressive bent of mind. Recalling his dad’s style and sensibilities as a filmmaker and actor, Fardeen says, “My dad was extremely progressive in terms of how he presented his characters. His films were liberal and broke away from tradition. There were few filmmakers who were more advanced for their time, and he was one of them. He was a student of cinema and always very curious and learning and adapting to newer technology. When I was shooting for Visfot, I saw some cool gadgets and fancy apparatus being used on the set and thought of my dad. When I see the shot line-up created and sent on phones, I tend to think of him and how he would review his shots every day after work. He would have loved being around the technology we have today. Although he was progressive, he was never someone who promoted himself blatantly. He never tried to project himself or his films a certain way. He just did things the way he felt was right.”

He further adds, “Today, I don’t know how much more progressive I can be, and I don’t know if I will ever compare to my father. I don’t know if I can be even an ounce of what he was. His contribution to cinema was immense. His ear for music, his eye for presenting his leading ladies as progressive and beautiful women and his yearning to bring home more advanced technology will be my inspirations when I don the producer’s hat.”